In May, Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will sit the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test. While the data might but put to good use, the overemphasis routinely placed on...

School marks for written tasks

Dan Blore is Manager and Educator at Extended Learning Centres, Mooloolaba
If you notice that your secondary students are given marks for English or other written assessments which seem below the...

5 tips for bringing up tutoring with your child

Dan Blore is Manager and Educator at Extended Learning Centres, Mooloolaba
In my previous post, I explain why many kids and teenagers have a negative conception of tuition, and why Extended Learning...

In May, Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will sit the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test. While the data might but put to good use, the overemphasis routinely placed on these tests defeats the point. It would be valuable to have an accurate measure of schools’ and students’ performance in

The best way of effecting long-term student success is to expose students to curriculum ahead of school. When working towards a student’s future, we always take into account the bigger picture and the long-term. This goes to the core of what we do. Over-emphasising test scores. Following the dominant school narrative, parents sometimes don’t realise that they

By Dan Blore, Educator Have you ever asked yourself, “What is the point of assessment?” Great teachers ask themselves that constantly. Jump to 5-minute video explanation of Formative and Summative assessments Jump to 2-minute video: Judging good Good Assessment As an adult, when is the last time you took an exam? We expect school to

We appreciate all the thanks we receive – from parents, yes, but even more so from students. We were particularly touched to find one day in the post box a sentimental anonymous postcard and poem from a former student (see below). It’s about our students’ future We love hearing about the future adventures of our students and

NAPLAN have released preliminary statistics for this year’s testing. While theoretically it’s great to have data which could be well used to help decide what actions are needed to improve outcomes at national, state, school and individual levels, our main gripes with NAPLAN remain: the many weeks schools divert from regular curriculum to ‘teach to